An Alliance of Warm Hands
by Snitwick
Summary: Concerned about the brewing war, the newly reestablished Fuuma clan sends a diplomat to Konoha to seek an alliance. While in Konoha, Sasame is reacquainted with Sakura, the medic nin who treated her years ago. SakuSasa. Yuri. Complete.


ï»¿Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

With war inevitable and on the not-too-distant horizon, tensions were high and diplomatic relations were more important than ever. The Fuuma knew how crucial of a role they played in the upcoming war. Either they could accept a passive role in the war and remain neutral, or they could risk their newly reestablished clan and form an alliance with Konoha. In the end, they chose to side with Konoha.

One member of the Fuuma clan, a red-head, was particularly outspoken on the matter. She insisted that without the advice of a group of Konoha nin that had arrived in their town a few years back, they would never have removed themselves from the service of a local group of thugs and gotten back their respectability. No one could deny the truth behind the red-head's words, and they voted unanimously to send her to Konoha to seek an alliance.

xxxxx

Two days later, Fuuma Sasame set out for Konoha alone. She was nervous about traveling by herself, but fiercely determined to succeed with her mission. The trip was not an exceptionally long one--no more than a few days at the longest--but by the end of it, Sasame's determination had drifted a little and she found herself wondering how the group of Konoha nin she had met were faring. After all, it had been years since she had last seen them.

She frowned and tried to recall them. There had been three. Two kids--about her age--and a man. She remembered the pink-haired girl well. Her name was Sakura, and she had treated Sasame so nicely. Sasame smiled as she remembered how Sakura had kicked the boy out when she had taken off her shirt so that Sakura could access her injury.

Even years later, Sasame still remembered how warm Sakura's hands had felt against her skin as she had treated her wound. Of course, the boy's incorrigible perverseness had been nothing compared to the old man's. Sasame smiled wider, despite herself. She hoped that they were all still in Konoha. She wanted to visit them while she was there. Especially Sakura.

xxxxx

Sasame arrived at Konoha the next day. As she approached the village gates, a guard greeted her.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"My name is Fuuma Sasame," she told him. "I want to request a meeting with the Hokage to discuss an alliance between the Fuuma clan and Konoha."

xxxxx

As Sasame followed the guard to the Hokage's office, she wondered how she would locate Sakura. Less than a minute later, she was surprised to be greeted at the Hokage's office by Sakura herself. After Sakura relieved the guard of his duty and approved his request to turn to his post, Sakura and Sasame found themselves alone, and together, for the first time since the day they had met.

"Well," said Sakura. "It's certainly been a long time, hasn't it?"

"A few years," said Sasame softly. She had spent over half the trip to Konoha anticipating this moment, but now that it had come, she found herself at a loss of what to say. Luckily, Sakura broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Tsunade is away on some business at the moment, but she should return this evening," said Sakura. "In the meantime, I hope you don't have a problem with grabbing a bite to eat. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Sasame brightened considerably at this proposal. "All right!"

"Great," said Sakura, smiling brightly. "I have just the place."

xxxxx

'Just the place' turned out to be a small restaurant a few blocks away from the Hokage's office. It was a family-run restaurant with booths along the far wall and a bar with a row of stools in the front. Sakura led Sasame to one of the booths.

A minute later, a young man approached with two menus, but Sakura shook her head.

"You don't mind me ordering something for you, do you?" she asked Sasame.

"Oh, no," Sasame told her.

"Perfect," said Sakura. "We will have two number fours then," she told the waiter.

After he had left, Sakura turned to Sasame with an attentive look. "You're going to love the number four. I know it's still early for lunch, but this way we can avoid the rush _and_ have plenty of privacy." Sasame felt her cheeks grow warm at Sakura's words. "Now, tell me everything."

xxxxx

At first, Sasame didn't know where to begin. But she started telling Sakura about how, after they had parted ways, she had talked to the other Fuuma and they had expressed similar interest in rebuilding their clan. The more she talked, the easier the words came. By the time the food arrived--number four was apparently a delicious-looking barbecue pork sandwich, although Sasame had to admit that almost _anything_ would look good after eating nonperishable food for four days--Sasame was well into an anecdote about her nephew, who was almost two.

As they started eating, the conversation dwindled a little bit, and Sasame suddenly grew self-conscious. After talking about herself and the Fuuma clan so much, she was afraid she had begun to bore Sakura. But as Sakura took a sip of her drink, she noticed Sasame's worried expression and smiled reassuringly.

"Kids are adorable, aren't they?" said Sakura.

Sasame nodded, but smiled sadly.

"What's wrong?" asked Sakura.

"It's just... I adore kids, but I don't think I'll ever have them myself."

"Why? Don't think you'll ever meet the right man?"

Sasame blushed and lowered her gaze.

"Or," asked Sakura, weighing her words carefully, "is it something... else?"

Sasame looked up at Sakura and was surprised to see something in her face other than disgust or mockery. In fact, Sasame thought that Sakura looked almost... _understanding_. As if she _knew_.

"Um," started Sasame softly. "May I ask you a- a personal question?"

"Yes."

"Are you... I mean, do you... " Sasame looked down at her hands, which she was working together nervously. "Do you like... girls?" She almost could not bear to look up at Sakura, but she _had_ to see the expression on her face, so she forced herself to meet her gaze. To her surprise, Sakura was smiling.

"You mean romantically, of course."

Sasame nodded quickly, her cheeks reddening.

"In that case, I do," said Sakura, with absolutely no shame.

"You do?" asked Sasame weakly. "How did you know?"

"It's a long story--one I'll tell you some other time, but I'll summarize it by saying that it took me years to figure it out. I'm not necessarily opposed to the idea of having a relationship with a guy, but - " she looked at Sasame significantly as she said the next words - "I'm far more attracted to the female form."

Sasame's blush deepened. "M-me too."

Sakura picked up her barbecue beef sandwich and continued eating it. Sasame, on the other hand, was too stunned to eat anything. It wasn't that she hadn't enjoyed the meal. In fact, it had tasted just as delicious as it had looked. It was just that, after Sakura's confession, everything felt so surreal. They finished their meal in relative silence and, after Sakura paid the bill, they walked back to the Hokage's office.

xxxxx

When they were back in the Hokage's office, Sakura turned to Sasame with a wide smile. "Come over here," she said, nodding her head in the direction of the Hokage's desk. "There's an _amazing_ view from Tsunade's window. You have to see it."

Sasame followed her over to the desk. She was a little reluctant to climb up on the desk next to Sakura, worried that Tsunade would disapprove. At Sakura's urging, however, she set aside her worries and hoisted herself up next to the pink-haired woman. As soon as she glanced casually out the window, she realized Sakura hadn't been lying. The view _was_ amazing. The window overlooked the street, but since the Hokage's office was higher than the other buildings on the street, they could see the rooftops of the homes and businesses stretching out toward the edge of the village. In the far distance, the woods were just barely visible, green tops peeking over the furthermost roofs.

"_Wow_," said Sasame. She turned to Sakura to elaborate, only to find that Sakura was not even looking at the view, but at her. "Um," she felt her cheeks reddening again, "It's a beautiful view."

"Isn't it?" asked Sakura, although she did not lift her eyes from Sasame's face.

Before Sasame knew what was happening, Sakura leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Sasame felt herself give in to Sakura, submitting to the kiss, and as realized what was happening, she kissed back. The kiss deepened and Sakura brought her hand up from the desk to rest on Sasame's cheek. With a jolt, Sasame realized that she hadn't forgotten a detail about the warmth of Sakura's hands.

"Is this okay?" asked Sakura, breaking away from the kiss briefly.

Sasame whimpered in response and pulled Sakura closer to her. Sakura shifted so that she was straddling Sasame. She pressed her hips against Sasame's and started working her hand beneath Sasame's shirt as she resumed kissing her. Sasame laid her hand on top of Sakura's and started scrabbling at the edge of her shirt, until she had managed to pull it over her head. Once free of the shirt, she discarded it on the ground and groped at the zipper on Sakura's dress. The two women broke apart as Sakura undid her dress and push the top down around her waist.

Now both naked from the waist up, Sakura pressed Sasame backwards until she was lying flat on the desk. She slipped a hand between Sakura's skin and pants. As she worked her fingers in a crooked motion, Sasame groaned and rolled her head back. Sakura lowered their bodies until their naked skin was almost touching. She moved her body in a repetitive, rolling motion, working her fingers deeper and faster and -

"_Oh_," cried Sasame quietly. She closed her eyes and her body grew rigid and then it was over.

Lying on her side next to Sasame, Sakura gazed at the red-head's face. Sasame opened one eye, and then the other, and looked around, as if trying to judge whether or not what had just happened was a dream. Deciding that it clearly wasn't, she closed her eyes again and smiled.

xxxxx

Later that evening, when Tsunade returned, Sakura and Sasame were sitting in her office, fully clothed once more and talking about the Fuuma clan. When Tsunade and Shizune entered the office, Sakura and Sasame stood up.

"Tsunade?" asked Sakura. "This is Fuuma Sasame, from the Rice Country. She's been sent by her clan to seek an alliance with Konoha."

Without even a curt 'good evening,' Tsunade strode past them. "I apologize for my absence," she said, sliding into the seat behind her desk. "If you are willing to spend the night, I shall try my best to see you in the morning."

"I understand," said Sasame, bowing her head in acknowledge of the Hokage's decision.

Nevertheless, as they left the Hokage's office, Sasame looked down-hearted.

"Don't worry," Sakura told her. "I can set you up with a place to sleep tonight and I'm sure Tsunade will see you tomorrow. She's been busy lately; the council hasn't been too keen on her support of Naruto's determination to retrieve Sasuke."

"Naruto?" asked Sasame. "That name sound so - oh!" She smiled as it clicked; Naruto was the name of the blond boy that had been part of the group Sasame had met in the Rice Country.

"He's changed a lot," said Sakura fondly. "But not as much as you." She tucked a lock of Sasame's red hair beneath her ear as she spoke.

Sasame smiled shyly and slid her hand into Sakura's. She was slightly disappointed that she hadn't been able to see the Hokage that day, but she couldn't say that she was _entirely_ disappointed. After all, she had spent the day becoming reacquainted with Sakura in many ways, and becoming acquainted with her in a lot of new ways, too. And while Sasame's determination to convince the Hokage to form an alliance with the Fuuma clan had been renewed, so had a lot of other things, like her desire to feel Sakura's warm hands on her naked skin again. Even if the original purpose of the mission failed, she would never think of the mission itself as a failure. After all, anything that had managed to bring Sakura back into her life, no matter how briefly, could never be considered a failure.

_Fin._


End file.
